As part of a statewide “Click It or Ticket” Teen seatbelt enforcement mobilization, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and local law enforcement agencies are partnering with the goal of increasing seatbelt usage among drivers and passengers under the age of 18 and ultimately saving young lives.
During the mobilization, PennDOT will visit elementary and high schools throughout the region to talk to about seatbelt safety while local law enforcement agencies will be issuing seatbelt citations to drivers and passengers under the age of 18 not wearing seatbelts.
Act 81, which went into effect Dec. 27, 2011, requires vehicle drivers and occupants who are under the age of 18 to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt. Children under the age of eight must be securely fastened in a child restraint system.
Failure to comply with the seatbelt provisions is a primary offense, meaning that a driver can be pulled over and cited solely for violating this provision.
Local law enforcement that will be participating in this mobilization are: Spring Township Police Department (Centre County), Clearfield Borough Police Department (Clearfield County), St. Marys Police Department (Elk County) and Bradford City Police Department (McKean County).
In Pennsylvania in 2015, there were 57 teen drivers 16 to 19 years old who were killed in crashes. Of those teen drivers, 13 of them did not have their seatbelt on. Pennsylvania’s seatbelt usage rate was 83 percent in 2015 and the Teen usage rate is believed to be lower.
For more teen driving information, visit: www.penndot.gov/safety and www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov. Follow PennDOT on Twitter: www.twitter.com/511PAStateCOLL.